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from Natural Life Magazine, May/June
2006 Q: I recently switched to a new brand of deodorant and broke out in a rash. When I stopped using it, the rash went away. Do you think I was simply allergic to it or could there be harmful materials in it? I couldn’t find anything on the label. And that got me wondering about any potential environmental issues as well. A: Your concern is well-placed. There are no health studies required for cosmetic and personal care products in the United States and Canada. And since we use an average of 10 such products per day, possibly involving over 100 chemical ingredients, they are cause for concern in terms of both human health and the environment, whether they are absorbed through our skin, rinsed down the drain or flushed down the toilet after working their way through our bodies. Studies finding disruption in the hormone systems of wildlife due to common water pollutants usually include personal care products, rinsed down drains and into rivers, as a major cause. As for personal health, the experts say that the amount of chemical found in any one consumer product is unlikely to cause harm when used once, except to the most sensitive individuals. In fact, that’s the argument used by the cosmetic industry to justify chemical ingredients in their products. But we use personal care products daily, often without much thought, and are repeatedly and regularly exposed to industrial chemicals from many other different sources. Some chemicals found in a variety of cosmetics – including phthalates, acrylamide, formaldehyde and ethylene oxide – are listed by EPA and the state of California as carcinogens or reproductive toxins. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has researched and advocated on personal care product safety for five years now. It has compiled an electronic database of ingredient labels for 14,100 name-brand products and cross-linked it with 37 toxicity or regulatory databases. They found that more than one-third of all personal care products contains at least ... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition. Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with over 35 years of experience. She has also authored nine books. Visit her website. |
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